Table 1 Operational Definitions of Variables and Means/Percentages for All Variables

Private health insurance coverage

Whether a person is covered by a private health insurance plan

Dependent

1 = Yes

52.1 | 49.2

0 = No

Perceived health status

Health status according to individual

Independent

1 = Excellent

36.5 | 38.6

2 = Very Good

32.9 | 32.9

3 = Good

24.6 | 22.1

4 = Fair

5.4 | 5.7

5 = Poor

0.5 | 0 .5

Can overcome illness

Can overcome illness without medical help (Measures Perceived Need)

Independent

1 = Disagree Strongly

28.6 | 28.5

2 = Disagree Somewhat

23.3 | 24.8

3 = Uncertain

17.3 | 15.7

4 = Agree Somewhat

24.3 | 25.1

5 = Agree Strongly

6.5 | 5.9

Do not need

Do not need health insurance (Measures Perceived need)

Independent

1 = Disagree Strongly

44.9 | 45.3

2 = Disagree Somewhat

21.2 | 21.5

3 = Uncertain

13.8 | 12.6

4 = Agree Somewhat

15.4 | 16.3

5 = Agree Strongly

4.8 | 4.3

Perceived value

Health insurance not worth cost

Independent

1 = Disagree Strongly

36.3 | 33.4

2 = Disagree Somewhat

20.6 | 21.6

3 = Uncertain

19.6 | 17.8

4 = Agree Somewhat

15.1 | 16.8

5 = Agree Strongly

8.4 | 10.4

Education

Individual education level (Measures SES)

Independent

1-8 = Grades1-8

2.9 | 2.9

9-11 = Grades 9-11

24.8 | 18.2

12 = Grade 12

36.1 | 38.6

13 = 1 Year College

13.1 | 12.3

14 = 2 Years College

10.4 | 13.1

15 = 3 Years College

5.4 | 7.0

16 = 4 Years College

4.9 | 6.4

17 = 5+ Years College

1.3 | 1.4

Hourly wage

Hourly wage (Measures SES)

Independent

Indicated by continuous dollar values

9.06 | 10.67

Gender

Gender of individual

Control

0 = Male, 1 = Female

50.00 | 50.5

African American

African American

Control

0 = White, 1 = African American

15.1 | 19.5

Hispanic

Hispanic

Control

0 = White, 1 = Hispanic

27.3 | 32.3